Château de Ornans

Ornans is a small town on the Loue river in the Doubs department of Franche-Comté, set in a narrow valley between limestone cliffs. It is one of the most attractive towns in the region, and its old houses stand directly above the water, their facades reflected in the river, which has earned it the nickname of the Venice of Franche-Comté. Little remains of the old castle that gave the town its strategic importance, so the visit is mostly about the town and the valley that surround the site.

Ornans was a fortified place in the Middle Ages, with a castle controlling the valley route and the river crossing. Like many castles in the region, it lost most of its military buildings over the centuries, and the buildings you see today are mainly later structures. Visitors expecting a large fortress may be disappointed, and it is wise to check at the local tourist office what is accessible and what is visible from outside. The tourist office can answer questions about access.

The town's real fame is as the birthplace of the painter Gustave Courbet, who was born here in 1819 and returned throughout his life. Courbet painted the valley, its rocks, springs and caves, as well as the people of Ornans. His large canvas A Burial at Ornans, painted around 1850, shows a funeral in the town and was a landmark of the Realist movement, although it hangs now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. In Ornans the Musée Courbet, housed in the painter's family house on the riverbank, presents his work and the context of his life, with temporary exhibitions through the year. The Maison de Courbet is the same house, and the Centre Culturel d'Ornans is another venue for exhibitions.

The valley itself, the Vallon de la Loue, is an area for walking, fishing and canoeing, with the source of the Loue, a spectacular spring emerging from a cave, a short drive away. The Parc de la Gare is a small green space in town. In the evening, walking along the riverbank gives views of the houses and the cliffs.

The town suits art lovers, families who like riverside walks and travellers following the Courbet trail through the Franche-Comté. Allow a few hours for the town, longer if you add the museum and the valley.